The present invention relates to the protection of buildings, other important sites and their occupants from attach from vehicles, and more particularly, to an aesthetically inoffensive vehicular road block for stopping unauthorized vehicles from entering a protected area.
In recent years, embassies, military installations and the residences of government officials have been subjected increasingly to terrorist attacks. One type of attack which is especially damaging and difficult to stop is the driving onto protected grounds of a vehicle loaded with explosives by a kamikaze driver who sacrifices his life by detonating the explosives when the vehicle is at or near the intended target. Ordinary lift gates and even swinging or sliding steel gates provided at the perimeter of the protected area are insufficient to stop a heavy vehicle moving at high speed. Heavier barricades made of material such as steel-reinforced concrete could be constructed to stop such vehicles, but they impede the flow of traffic of authorized vehicles into and out of the protected area and they detract from the appearance of the protected area. These drawbacks are unacceptable because the protected areas often include buildings with governmental or historical significance which must appear aesthetically pleasing, open and accessible to the people they serve.